Brammeier in Paris Roubaix last year, which he will miss this year
Matt Brammeier has been forced to sit out the spring classics due to an untimely bout of bronchitis, which has derailed his racing plans at exactly the point of the season he was aiming to peak for.
The Omega Pharma-Quickstep rider had repeatedly said he wanted to use the early portion of the season to build his form and hit the current block of racing in top condition.
But instead of preparing to ride the Tour of Flanders this weekend he’s now in Spain taking in some rest with a bit of biking as he recovers from his illness. He will also miss Paris Roubaix on Sunday week.
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Flanders is the most important race of the year for Brammeier’s Belgian team and in classics team leader Tom Boonen it has every chance of adding to its already massively successful season so far.
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Boonen has been on fire since the start of the 2012 campaign and his wins in E3 and Gent-Wevelgem, both in the past week, have only served to underline his status as one of the big favourites for Flanders.
Brammeier seems to have settled into the Omega Pharma-Quickstep squad very well this year, following the collapse of HTC-Highroad at the end of last season.
The Irish national TT and road race champion has emerged as a key strong team rider and is hopeful of getting his chance at some point this season of bagging some results for himself.
His forced lay off from racing is a shame, particularly during such an exciting time of the season and with his team in such good form. But hopefully he will recover fully soon and be back at in no time.
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